Six Bans For a Healthier Legacy
Written by Cyrus Bales (aka CrucibleofWords)
Something needs to change in Legacy in the Nov. 10, 2025, banned and restricted (B&R) announcement.
What Are the Problems?
I track and report Legacy data each week; however, here is an overview of the entire season since the most recent B&R update on June 30, 2025.
As we can see from this data, UB Reanimator is in a league of its own. It's not only posted absurd numbers, but it's over-represented whilst doing so. Below are visualizations of this data effectively convey the point.
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Cumulative Top 8 Placings
The headline numbers on the deck are:
- Meta-Share: 17.8%
- Top 8 Share: 26.4%
- Event Win Share: 26.3%
All of this is happening whilst players pack main-deck graveyard hate. Even Sneak & Show is running main deck Ghost Vacuum right now. Looking at 2025 Eternal Weekend North America (EWNA), UB Reanimator performed better than in 2024: a higher win rate and more representation in Top 8 despite Psychic Frog still legal in 2024!
What's the Fix?
UB Reanimator is the priority issue in Legacy. How can bans fix it?
I've banged this drum for quite some time: the problem is Entomb.
Entomb enables for a 10-card package that slots into the best tempo shell, providing a cheap win condition that easily dominates games and, therefore, must be respected at all times. By comparison, Sneak & Show must play nearly twice as many cards to try to cheat in a giant monster. Entomb is too efficient as a tutor and enabler.
Why Not Another Card?
I hear this often. Players suggest Reanimate or one of the big monsters. This would require banning a significant number of large creatures to bring Entomb in line. The collateral damage hurts struggling decks (e.g., Sneak & Show).
Banning Reanimate would likely fail to achieve anything, as UB Reanimator can run Animate Dead, which actually shuts off the "deal enough damage to shut off Reanimate" line. Losing Reanimate would slow down UB Reanimator's fastest hands, but the strength in UB Reanimator isn't that they can turn two (which they still can do without Reanimate), it's that these powerful plans can be leveraged alongside tempo cards, whilst paving the way for their bigger plan.
UB Reanimator isn't an all-in deck. Taking out the more all-in aspect won't have the intended impact. The flip side is that a Reanimate ban would hurt all in the Reanimator decks that need cheaper reanimation effects. Reanimate is a much fairer card with a drawback compared to Entomb, which is the most powerful tutor in the format, and arguably better than some tutors on the banlist (e.g. Imperial Seal, Vampiric Tutor, or Mystical Tutor)!
What About Tamiyo?
Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student is a horribly designed card. It should be banned in Legacy because of its play patterns. On the topic of knocking down UB Reanimator, were Tamiyo the really busted thing, why is the other UB Tamiyo deck — Dimir Tempo — performing so much worse? UB Tempo's numbers are fine, but not at the level of UB Reanimator.
These two decks overlap significantly; the main difference is the Entomb package versus the fairer plan of the tempo deck — primarily Nethergoyf and additional interaction. One could argue that Reanimator better leverages Tamiyo; however, the problem remains the Entomb package, which has been dominant for two years, and before Tamiyo was even a thing.
I've said it before, and I'll repeat it: as long as Entomb is legal, UB Reanimator will be the best deck. We should stop making other cards pay for Entomb's sins and ban it. I know the dedicated all-in reanimator players already have lists without Entomb ready to go. I have 100% faith that they will still top 8 challenges.
Wizards of the Coast (WotC) seems to think killing Entomb eliminates reanimator as a strategy entirely, which is false. Banning Entomb prevents other strategies from splashing the Reanimator strategy, which has been the problem. If the game plan is cheating Atraxa, Grand Unifier into play on turn 2, the deck should have to be dedicated to making that happen, not just trade 10 slots!
With Entomb banned, Troll of Khazad-dûm can be freed, which enables a tempo-style Reanimator plan alongside Street Wraith, which is far more manageable for the format.
Other Bans?
Tamiyo should be banned because of its play pattern with cards like Brainstorm. It makes interaction unreliable and defines what is an isn't possible in current Legacy. Tamiyo should have been banned in the previous B&R, much to the complaints of people on Reddit. My stance has been vindicated since then. Tamiyo provides disgusting play patterns, and it doesn't belong in Legacy, much in the same way Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and Wrenn and Six shouldn 't exist within Legacy.
The One Ring also needs to be banned. Karn Forge has posted significant numbers, and control strategies remain virtually non-existent. It's impossible to keep up with the card advantage The One Ring provides. The format would be better without it.
On the topic of things that invalidate other decks and archetypes, Nadu, Winged Wisdom is certainly on that list. It compels every viable midrange green deck to become Nadu, which invalidates all turns before Nadu. WotC has admitted Nadu was design mistake and has banned in Modern and Commander due to the horrible play experience it creates. The ban list is for powerful design mistakes; put the bird there.
With these four bans — Tamiyo, The One Ring, Entomb, and Nadu — the format shake-up would be significant, potentially allowing the viability of control archetypes again. The worry is that when these cards leave, Oops, All Spells can rear its ugly head again.
Between Troll of Khazad-dûm's ban and UB Reanimator finding its build with Tamiyo, it has dominated the format. Considering how similar the Oops creatures are to Hermit Druid, they should join it on the ban list.
I wouldn't mind seeing Barrowgoyf banned as well, since it single-handedly provides pivot plans for decks to invalidate red. It's not a pressing issue and, on balance, is likely fine. I believe Legacy would be better without it, even if it doesn't warrant a ban on power level the way the others do.
Unbans?
Please stop suggesting that Deathrite Shaman be unbanned. Design mistakes from the past won't somehow make the design mistakes of today reasonable. A significant problem with Legacy is the recurrence of the same play patterns of a handful of cards. Unbanning Deathrite Shaman exacerbates that experience — it goes in so many decks and its hybrid mana cost breaks the color pie.
Frantic Search could be unbanned. It's weak compared to current Legacy power level, and asks players to play at least three turns of magic, which is fine for a combo deck and much better than what we are subjected to now via Oops, All Spells and the like. Frantic Search would also give a shot in the arm to High Tide, which are not currently viable; a shame given its storied history in the format.
Several other cards are likely fine unbans; however, they wouldn't add anything positive. Mind Twist is perhaps fine, but do we need it? Does it offer anything interesting? In my opinion, no. Mana Drain might be fine; however, The One Ring should to be removed first to see how control fares.
Conclusion
I'll break down my desires into tiers:
First Priority
- Entomb
- Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
Second Priority
- The One Ring
- Nadu, Winged Wisdom